Skokloster - Carl Gustav Wrangel

General Carl Gustaf Wrangel

When the owner and builder of Skokloster Castle died in 1676, he left the castle uncompleted.  General Carl Gustav Wrangel was a collector and furnished the castle lavishly.  He had a large armory, books, silver and textiles and artifacts from exotic locations.

However workmen were still finishing off rooms of the castle at the time.  In fact, they were in the middle of work on the banqueting hall when Carl Gustav shuffled off this mortal coil.  Strangely, the workmen dropped their tools and left on the spot, afraid they weren't going to get paid!

What's strange is that they never came back to collect their tools.  Then, subsequent owners also left the hall in the exact same condition as when the workers abandoned it, letting us have a glimpse into the late 17th century.

Wrangel

The Dining Hall  
Photo: (not my niece) Linnea Nilsson

For more information on this unusual castle, see my niece Linnea's blog post on Skokloster Castle (the link is on the right side of this page), and my blog of September 30th.

Here is what the unfinished banqueting hall looks like, tools and all:

The Unfinished Hall
Photo: Linnea Nilsson

This is an absolutely beautiful place by the Lake.  It's really great - and amazing - that we get a glimpse into history because of the way things were left at this castle.

So, if you had a castle by a lake, what would you fill it with?